Will not promise cheaper travel cards for students

– The government has an obligation to arrange for student discounts on public transport, and when the city government of Oslo chooses to lower the price on the ordinary monthly travel card, they must reduce the monthly student card correspondingly, says Ola Elvestuen (V), Head of the Standing Committee on Urban Development in the Oslo City Council.

Before Christmas, the Standing Committee earmarked grants to Oslo’s public transportation system: Ruter AS – previously Oslo Sporveier – in order to lower the prices on monthly travel cards. The plan is to reduce the maximum price from 720 to 550 kroner, as well as lowering the children’s fares and the reduced-rate tickets. The only ones not mentioned in this context are the students.

Approved in 2002

The question now is whether the students must continue to pay 430 kroner, or if the decision to lower the prices with 40 per cent should apply to the monthly student cards as well. If so, the students will only have to pay 330 kroner. But despite the fact that the resolution was approved in 2002, it is still not clear whether or not this will happen. Head of the Department of Transport in Oslo, Peter N. Myhre (FrP) does not want to make any promises.

– I cannot go into the details. We are still working on this and so I can not comment on this right now.

Erik Lahnstein, State Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, confirms notwithstanding that a price reduction also must benefit the students.

A precondition

Lahnstein continues to say that the local governments decide the prices themselves, and that if the opposite had happened – that the prices were raised – the price on the monthly student cards would have been raised correspondingly.

– The student discount has to follow the price levels in the county, in this case Oslo, who then has to decide how to go through with this. Our contribution to the discount will remain the same, he says. Elvestuen agrees:

– The student discount on 40 per cent was a presumption when we negotiated the budget. We will address this further with the City Council and the political parties. The student discount has been set in a resolution made by the government in 2002 and hence it does not change even though the prices go up or down.

– No comment

Even though both Elvestuen and the Ministry of Transport and Communications agree that the price of the monthly student card must be reduced the same way as the full-price monthly travel card, Petter N. Myhren plays his cards close to his chest.

– The Ministry as well as the mover of the resolution agrees that the monthly student card should be equally reduced.

– This decision is not up to them. We are working closely with Ruter AS in order to see how we can get a uniform price level in both Oslo and Akershus. It’s not a simple task, Myhre says.

– We will make our decisions during the first quarter this year, and I’m afraid I cannot divulge anything until we are finished.

– Will you not even give us an indication on whether or not the monthly student card will be reduced in price?

– No comment.